Pinkishe Foundation
31/10/2026
Dr. Shehla Jamal
You are not imagining it, and it is not a failure of willpower. In the years around menopause, women lose muscle, often sleep less well, and start storing fat around the belly instead of the hips. Together, these changes make weight easier to gain and harder to lose. The good news is that strength training, food and sleep can all help.
For most of your adult life, your weight followed a fairly predictable pattern. Eat a little less, move a little more, and the weight came off. Eat a little more, move a little less, and it came back on. The link between effort and result was reliable, even if not always easy.
And then somewhere in your early to mid 40s, the rules quietly changed.
You are eating roughly what you have always eaten. You are moving roughly the same amount. But somehow, the weight around your middle has steadily increased. Your clothes fit differently. Your reflection looks slightly unfamiliar. And the things that worked at 35 do not seem to work anymore.
Your body does change during perimenopause and menopause, and almost nobody bothers to explain why. So let us do that today.
Several things are happening at once.
First, oestrogen is changing. Oestrogen levels go up and down and slowly fall. Oestrogen plays a part in where your body stores fat. As it drops, fat often moves from your hips and thighs to your abdomen. This is why so many women in midlife say their shape is changing even when their weight has not changed much.
Second, muscle slowly declines. Women lose a little muscle each year from their 30s, and this speeds up around menopause. Less muscle means your body uses less energy, so more of the same food is stored as fat.
Third, sleep is disturbed. Poor sleep affects your hunger hormones and how well your body handles sugar. You crave more carbohydrates. You eat slightly more. Your body stores it more easily. All of this stacks up.
Fourth, stress adds up. Long-term stress, which many Indian women in midlife carry every day, raises the stress hormone cortisol. Over time, this can add to the fat stored around the belly.
What about metabolism? Metabolism changes less in midlife than most people think. The bigger changes are lost muscle, poorer sleep and the shift in where fat is stored.
So when you feel the weight is appearing without you doing anything differently, you are right. Your body is working under a new set of conditions.
This is one of the most common complaints from women in perimenopause. Even women who never struggled with weight before find their body shape changing in ways they cannot control.
The reason is largely oestrogen. Lower oestrogen encourages what is called visceral fat, the fat that sits deep around the organs in your abdomen. Fat on the hips and thighs is less harmful. Visceral fat is active in the body and is linked with a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other conditions.
This is not a vanity issue. It is a health issue, which is why understanding it and acting on it matters.
This is where the conversation usually goes wrong. Indian women in midlife hear a flood of diet advice, weight loss programmes, miracle supplements and conflicting claims. Much of it is unhelpful. Some of it is harmful. So let us be specific about what works.
Strength training matters most. Walking is good for you, but on its own it will not undo midlife weight gain. Add strength training. Keep up your walking and yoga, and add some resistance work: light weights at home, resistance bands, or simple exercises like squats, wall push-ups and climbing stairs. Two or three times a week makes a real difference to your muscles and bones.
Eat protein at every meal. Indian diets, especially vegetarian ones, are often light on protein. During and after menopause, your body needs protein to keep its muscle. Have some at every meal: dal, paneer, eggs, fish, chicken, dahi, sprouts, whatever fits your diet. Many women at this stage eat less protein than they need.
Cut down refined carbohydrates and added sugar. Not because they are evil, but because your body in midlife handles them less well than before. Roti and rice in sensible portions are fine. The biscuits, mithai, sweet drinks and packaged snacks add up faster than they used to.
Improve sleep wherever you can. This is not about willpower. Sleep affects hunger, cravings and how your body uses food in ways most people underestimate. Even a little more steady sleep can help over time.
Look after your stress. Stress is not something to simply push through. It makes weight harder to manage. Walking, yoga, breathing, time with people who calm you, or time alone if that works better: anything that calms you regularly helps.
Get your basics checked. Thyroid problems become more common in midlife and can cause weight gain and tiredness. Low haemoglobin, vitamin D or B12 can leave you tired and less able to exercise. A basic blood test tells you what you are working with. Take a supplement only if a test shows you need it and your doctor advises it.
Talk to a gynaecologist about your symptoms. Hormone therapy (HRT) helps symptoms such as hot flashes and poor sleep. It is not a weight-loss treatment. But sleeping better and feeling better can make it easier to stay active. HRT is safe and effective for many women, but it is not right for everyone, so discuss the benefits and risks with your doctor.
Let us also be clear about what does not work, because Indian women are sold a lot of false promises at this stage.
Crash diets. They cause muscle loss, which makes the weight come back faster. The yo-yo cycle makes weight harder to manage.
Cleanses and detoxes. Your liver and kidneys do this for you every day, free of charge. Anything sold as a cleanse is mostly marketing.
Pills, powders and slimming teas. No product replaces the basics of food, movement, sleep and looking after your stress. Do not start any supplement or weight-loss product without a test and a doctor's advice.
There is something else worth saying here, even if it is harder to measure.
Your body in your 40s is doing something remarkable. It is adapting to a hormonal landscape that is changing. Some weight gain in this period is not a sign of failure. It is biology doing what biology does. The goal is not to chase the body you had at 28. The goal is to be healthy, strong and well in the body you have now.
Many Indian women carry a complicated relationship with their bodies all their lives, often shaped by family comments, marriage expectations or social pressure. Midlife is a chance to set some of that down. To care for your body because it has carried you through everything, not because you owe anyone a particular shape.
Many women are in this exact stage right now, quietly struggling with body changes nobody has explained to them, and feeling guilty about weight that has little to do with their willpower. You do not have to carry that guilt.
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Most midlife weight gain is the slow kind described above. But please see a doctor if:
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Prefer to work out your dates now? Open the free ovulation calculatorWomen lose muscle as they get older, sleep often gets worse, and lower oestrogen moves fat to the belly. Metabolism changes less than most people think. The bigger changes are lost muscle, poorer sleep and where fat is stored.
Most women find that weight shifts to the abdomen during and after menopause. This is because lower oestrogen encourages fat to be stored deep around the middle.
Yes, but the approach is different from earlier in life. Strength training, more protein, better sleep, looking after your stress and avoiding crash diets all matter more than just eating less.
Walking is good for you, but on its own it will not undo midlife weight gain. Add strength training two or three times a week, and make sure your meals have enough protein.
No. HRT is not a weight-loss treatment. It helps symptoms such as hot flashes and poor sleep, and feeling better can make it easier to stay active. Whether it is right for you is a decision to make with your gynaecologist.
Ask your doctor whether you need tests for thyroid, blood sugar, haemoglobin, vitamin D and B12. These can explain tiredness or weight changes, and they tell you whether you need any treatment or supplement.
Weight gain in menopause is not a failure of discipline. Lost muscle, poorer sleep and lower oestrogen all play a part. Strength training, protein, good sleep and a check-up help far more than crash diets or supplements.
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